Critical minerals: Research on governance, conflict and politics
Critical minerals have quickly become part of everyday politics. They are linked to the green transition, industrial development, environmental pressures and rising geopolitical tension. At the Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI), we examine how these issues unfold across policy, law and geopolitics.
Critical minerals now play a visible role in climate, energy and security policy in Norway, across Europe and globally. At FNI, research in social science and law examines mineral extraction as a question of governance: what drives policy development, what constrains it, and how regulation and legitimacy take shape.
The research distinguishes between land-based and seabed extraction, and spans local processes as well as European and global political dynamics.
The CRIMINA project: critical minerals in the Arctic
A key anchor in our work on minerals is the project Critical minerals in the Arctic: Challenges and perspectives for the Nordic countries (CRIMINA). The project examines how the Nordic countries respond to rising demand for critical minerals in the Arctic, with attention to geopolitics, environmental concerns, Indigenous rights and regulatory frameworks.
The starting point is that mineral extraction raises fundamental questions about legitimacy and participation. Who is involved in decision-making processes? How are climate goals, environmental protection, industrial interests and rights weighed against one another?
Read more about the CRIMINA project here.
Land and sea: different types of conflict
An important distinction concerns land-based versus seabed extraction. On land, questions of land use, business interests, local communities and Indigenous rights are often central, and conflicts tend to be closely tied to place.
At sea, the governance landscape is different. Through Ida Hvinden’s doctoral research, developments in the emerging international regime for deep-sea minerals are followed closely, particularly within the International Seabed Authority. Scientific uncertainty, environmental risk and questions of international oversight are central. Commercial extraction has not yet begun, but pressure for regulatory clarification is growing.
Read Hvinden’s recent analysis on seabed mining governance in Maritime Studies.
EU policy, industry and global value chains
At the European level, critical minerals sit at the intersection of climate targets and industrial policy. The EU’s push to secure raw materials raises questions about supply chains, processing capacity and strategic dependence. For Norway, these discussions are filtered through the EEA framework.
Our new research project INDUSTRYLAND will examine how mineral needs are woven into debates about green industry, including data centres and the expansion of digital infrastructure.
China’s dominant role
Another strand of research examines China’s position in global value chains for critical minerals. China plays a central role not only in extraction, but also in processing and trade. This shapes the strategic choices facing the EU and European states, and has wider political and geopolitical implications.
Geopolitics and minerals
Mineral questions now sit alongside longstanding concerns in Arctic politics: resource access, jurisdiction, cooperation and competition. As supply security gains prominence and great-power rivalry sharpens, minerals become part of a wider strategic landscape in the North. That landscape shapes how new projects are interpreted, regulated and contested.
